A Sonnet on Hell

There are no friends in hell: the residents
With zeal display self-love’s destructive art
In narcissistic rage. The better part,
The milk of human kindness, no defense
Against a graceless world, robbed of pretense,
Decays and burns away. To have a heart
Whose every beat demands that God depart—
This is both final curse and gross offense.

Say not that metaphor’s inadequate,
A fearful mask that hides a lake less grim:
Relentless, pain-streaked language seeks to cut
A swath to bleak despair, devoid of him.

This second death’s a wretched, endless thing,
Eternal winter with no hope of spring.

I don’t know what David has against iambic pentameter, especially when reviewing a poem. Anyways, I enjoyed Carson’s language. He reminds of hell’s absence of kindness, which cannot save any human being in judgment. Thought-provoking and well written.

I trust Andy will indulge us. I’d recommend starting with The Best Poems of the English Language/, edited by Harold Bloom. That will bring you up until the beginning of the 20th century, and the essay that begins that volume, “The Art of Reading Poetry,” is excellent, as are his introductions to each poet. I’d recommend reading some of the poets you end up liking best more extensively (beyond just the anthology inclusions).

From modernism onward, I’m not sure I have a good set of resources, although there are anthologies out there. I’ve done a lot of digging through the bigger names as well as poets that found their way onto my radar screen (poets.org and poetryfoundation.org are places to browse but make up a rather wide net). I like Ted Kooser, Mary Oliver, Mark Jarman, some Robert Bly. Furthermore, I’ve got my eye on a volume by Carson. :^)